The San

The earliest hunter-gatherers in southern Africa were the San people. The oldest rock paintings they created are in Namibia and have been radiocarbon-dated to be 26 000 years old and show their social and belief systems.

They travelled here from further north in Africa and are also known as Bushmen. This word is now considered an insult. The San arrived thousands of years before the arrival of European people. It is difficult to find out where exactly they came from and how they got here because they have no written history. They have a rich oral history and the stories that have been passed on along with culture and traditions from generation to generation tell us what is known of this group.

Read more about the San in the Grade 5 lesson: Early Southern African Societies: Hunter-gatherers in southern Africa

Sources:

http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/chronology/main-chronology.html
Grade 5 lesson: Early Southern African Societies: Hunter-gatherers in southern Africa